Native American cuisine incwudes aww food practices of de indigenous peopwes of de Americas. Modern-day native peopwes retain a varied cuwture of traditionaw foods, some of which have become iconic of present-day Native American sociaw gaderings (for exampwe, frybread). Foods wike cornbread, turkey, cranberry, bwueberry, hominy and mush are known to have been adopted into de cuisine of de United States from Native American groups. In oder cases, documents from de earwy periods of contact wif European, African, and Asian peopwes awwow de recovery of food practices which passed out of popuwarity. The most important native American crops incwude corn, beans, sqwash, pumpkins, sunfwowers, wiwd rice, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, peanuts, avocados, papayas, potatoes and chocowate.[1]

Modern-day Native American cuisine is varied.[2][3] The use of indigenous domesticated and wiwd food ingredients can represent Native American food and cuisine.[4] Norf American native cuisine can differ somewhat from Soudwestern and Mexican cuisine in its simpwicity and directness of fwavor. The use of ramps, wiwd ginger, miners' wettuce, and juniper berry can impart subtwe fwavours to various dishes.[5]

The Government of de Nordwest Territories estimated in 2015 dat nearwy hawf of N.W.T. residents in smawwer communities rewied on country food for 75% of deir meat and fish intake, in warger communities de percentage was wower, wif de wowest percentage rewying on country foods (4%) being in Yewwowknife, de capitaw and onwy "warge community". The most common country foods in de NWT's area incwude mammaws and birds (caribou, moose, ducks, geese, seaws, hare, grouse, ptarmigan), fish (wake trout, char, inconnu (coney), whitefish, pike, burbot) and berries (bwueberries, cranberries, bwackberries, cwoudberries).[9]

The cuwturaw vawue attached to certain game species, and certain parts, varies. For exampwe, in de James Bay region, a 1982 study found dat bewuga whawe meat was principawwy used as dog food, whereas de bwubber, or muktuk was a "vawued dewicacy".[10] Vawue awso varies by age, wif Inuit preferring younger ring seaws, and often using de owder ones for dog food.[11]

Contaminants in country foods are a pubwic heawf concern in Nordern Canada; vowunteers are tested to track de spread of industriaw chemicaws from emitters (usuawwy in de Souf) into de nordern food web via de air and water.[12]

In 2017, de Government of de N.W.T. committed to using country foods in de soon-to-open Stanton Territoriaw Hospitaw, despite de chawwenges of obtaining, inspecting, and preparing sufficient qwantities of wiwd game and pwants.[13]

A 19f-century iwwustration, "Sugar-Making Among de Indians in de Norf". Aboriginaw peopwes wiving in de nordeastern part of Norf America were de first peopwe known to have produced mapwe syrup and mapwe sugar

The essentiaw stapwe foods of de Eastern Woodwands Aboriginaw Americans were corn (awso known as maize), beans, and sqwash. These were cawwed de "Three Sisters" because dey were pwanted interdependentwy: de beans grew up de taww stawks of de maize, whiwe de sqwash spread out at de base of de dree pwants and provided protection and support for de root systems. A number of oder domesticated crops were awso popuwar during some time periods in de Eastern Woodwands, incwuding a wocaw version of qwinoa, a variety of amaranf, sumpweed (marsh ewder), wittwe barwey, maygrass, and sunfwowers.

Mapwe syrup is anoder exampwe of de essentiaw food stapwes of de Woodwand Indigenous peopwes. Tree sap is cowwected from sugar mapwe trees during de beginning of springtime when de nights are stiww cowd.[15] Birch bark containers were used in de process of making mapwe syrup, mapwe cakes, mapwe sugar, and mapwe taffy. When de sap is boiwed to a certain temperature, it is at dese temperatures de different variations of mapwe food products are processed. At one point when de sap starts to dicken, snow is used by pouring de dick sap into de snow to make taffy.[16]

Soudeastern Native American cuwture has formed de cornerstone of Soudern cuisine from its origins tiww de present day. From Soudeastern Native American cuwture came one of de main stapwes of de Soudern diet: corn (maize), eider ground into meaw or wimed wif an awkawine sawt to make hominy, using a Native American technowogy known as nixtamawization.[17] Corn was used to make aww kinds of dishes from de famiwiar cornbread and grits to wiqwors such as whiskey, which were important trade items. Though a wesser stapwe, potatoes were awso adopted from Native American cuisine and were used in many ways simiwar to corn, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Native Americans introduced de first non-Native American Souderners to many oder vegetabwes stiww famiwiar on soudern tabwes. Sqwash, pumpkin, many types of beans, tomatoes, many types of peppers, and sassafras aww came to de settwers via de native tribes.

To a far greater degree dan anyone reawizes, severaw of de most important food dishes of de Soudeastern Indians wive on today in de "souw food" eaten by bof bwack and white Souderners. Hominy, for exampwe, is stiww eaten ... Sofkee wive on as grits ... cornbread [is] used by Soudern cooks ... Indian fritters ... variouswy known as "hoe cake", ... or "Johnny cake." ... Indians boiwed cornbread is present in Soudern cuisine as "corn meaw dumpwings", ... and as "hush puppies", ... Souderns cook deir beans and fiewd peas by boiwing dem, as did de Indians ... wike de Indians dey cure deir meat and smoke it over hickory coaws.

Soudeastern Native Americans awso suppwemented deir diets wif meats derived from de hunting of native game. Venison was an important meat stapwe, due to de abundance of white-taiwed deer in de area. They awso hunted rabbits, sqwirrews, opossums, and raccoons. Livestock, adopted from Europeans, in de form of hogs and cattwe, were kept. Aside from de meat, it was not uncommon for dem to eat organ meats such as wiver, brains, and intestines. This tradition remains today in hawwmark dishes wike chitterwings, commonwy cawwed chitwins, which are de fried warge intestines of hogs; wivermush, a common dish in de Carowinas made from hog wiver; and pork brains and eggs. The fat of de animaws, particuwarwy of hogs, was rendered and used for cooking and frying. Many of de earwy settwers were taught Soudeastern Native American cooking medods.

Indigenous peopwes of de Great Pwains and Canadian Prairies or Pwains Indians rewied heaviwy on American bison (American buffawo) as a food source. The meat was cut in din swices and dried, eider over a swow fire or in de hot sun, untiw it was hard and brittwe which couwd wast for monds, making it a main ingredient to be combined wif oder foods, or eaten on its own, uh-hah-hah-hah. One such use couwd be pemmican, a concentrated mixture of fat and protein, and fruits such as cranberries, Saskatoon berries, bwueberries, cherries, chokeberries, chokecherries, and currants were sometimes added. When asked to state traditionaw stapwe foods, a group of Pwains ewders identified "prairie turnips, fruits (chokecherries, June berries, pwums, bwueberries, cranberries, strawberries, buffawo berries, gooseberries), potatoes, sqwash, dried meats (venison, buffawo, jack rabbit, pheasant, and prairie chicken), and wiwd rice" as being dese stapwe foods.[19] Bison was a stapwe of Pwains Indians' diets. Many parts were utiwized and prepared in numerous ways, incwuding: "boiwed meat, tripe soup perhaps dickened wif brains, roasted intestines, jerked/smoked meat, and raw kidneys, wiver, tongue sprinkwed wif gaww or biwe were eaten immediatewy after a kiww.[20] The animaws dat Great Pwains Indians consumed, wike bison, deer, and antewope, were grazing animaws. Due to dis, dey were high in omega-3 fatty acids, an essentiaw acid dat many diets wack.[21]

In de Nordwest of what is now de United States, Native Americans used sawmon and oder fish, seafood, mushrooms, berries, and meats such as deer, duck, and rabbit. In contrast to de Easterners, de Nordwestern aboriginaw peopwes were principawwy hunter-gaderers. The generawwy miwd cwimate meant dey did not need to devewop an economy based upon agricuwture but instead couwd rewy year-round on de abundant food suppwies of deir region, uh-hah-hah-hah. In what is now Cawifornia, acorns were ground into a fwour dat was de principaw foodstuff for about 75 percent of de popuwation,[22] and dried meats were prepared during de season when drying was possibwe.[23]

Ancestraw Puebwoans of de present-day Four Corners region of de United States, comprising soudeastern Utah, nordeastern Arizona, nordwestern New Mexico, and soudwestern Coworado, practiced subsistence agricuwture by cuwtivating maize, beans, sqwash, and sunfwower seeds. They utiwized wocawwy avaiwabwe wiwd resources such as pine nuts from de pinyon pine, and hunted game incwuding muwe deer, hare, rabbits, and sqwirrew. Ancestraw Puebwoans are awso known for deir basketry and pottery, indicating bof an agricuwturaw surpwus dat needed to be carried and stored, and cway pot cooking. Grinding stones were used to grind maize into meaw for cooking. Archaeowogicaw digs indicate dat dey had domesticated turkeys which served as a food source.

Awaska native cuisine consists of nutrient-dense foods such as seaw, fish (sawmon), and moose. Awong wif dese, berries (huckweberries) and bird eggs are consumed by Awaska natives.[24] Seaw, wawruses, and powar bear are oder warge game dat Awaska natives hunt. Smawwer game dey hunt incwude whitefish, arctic char, arctic hares, and ptarmigan, uh-hah-hah-hah. Due to weader, edibwe pwants wike berries are onwy avaiwabwe to be consumed in de summer, so dese peopwe have a diet very high in fat and protein, but wow in carbohydrates. The game dat is hunted is awso used for cwoding. The intestines of warge mammaws are used to make waterproof cwoding and caribou fur is used to make warm cwoding.[25]

Ajiaco, same as pepperpot, a soup bewieved to have originated in Cuba before Cowumbus' arrivaw. The soup mixes a variety of meats, tubers, and peppers.

Barbacoa, de origin of de Engwish word barbecue, a medod of swow-griwwing meat over a fire pit;

Jerk, a stywe of cooking meat dat originated wif de Taíno of Jamaica. Meat was appwied wif a dry rub of awwspice, Scotch bonnet pepper, and perhaps additionaw spices, before being smoked over fire or wood charcoaw.

Casabe, a crispy, din fwatbread made from cassava root widespread in de Pre-Cowumbian Caribbean and Amazonia;

Bammy, a Jamaican bread made from cassava and water; Today dis bread is fried and made wif coconut miwk.

Pastewes, dis dish may have awso been cawwed guanime and originated from Puerto Rico. Pastewes were once made wif cassava and taro mashed into a masa onto a taro weaf. They are den stuffed wif meat and wrapped.

Chicha, a generic name for any number of indigenous beers found in Souf America. Though chichas made from various types of corn are de most common in de Andes, chicha in de Amazon Basin freqwentwy use manioc. Variations found droughout de continent can be based on amaranf, qwinoa, peanut, potato, coca, and many oder ingredients.

Cowada morada, a dickened, spiced fruit drink based on de Andean bwackberry, traditionaw to de Day of de Dead ceremonies hewd in Ecuador, it is typicawwy served wif guagua de pan, a bread shaped wike a swaddwed infant (formerwy made from cornmeaw in Pre-Cowumbian times), dough oder shapes can be found in various regions.

The earwiest utensiws, incwuding knives, spoons, grinders, and griddwes, were made from aww kinds of materiaws, such as rock and animaw bone. Gourds were awso initiawwy cuwtivated, howwowed, and dried to be used as bowws, spoons, wadwes, and storage containers. Many Native American cuwtures awso devewoped ewaborate weaving and pottery traditions for making bowws, cooking pots, and containers. Nobiwity in de Andean and Mesoamerican civiwizations were even known to have utensiws and vessews smewted from gowd, siwver, copper, or oder mineraws.

Batan, an Andean grinding swab used in conjunction wif a smaww stone uña

Cooking baskets were woven from a variety of wocaw fibers and sometimes coated wif cway to improved durabiwity. The notabwe ding about basket cooking and some native cway pot cooking is dat de heat source, i.e. hot stones or charcoaw, is used inside de utensiw rader dan outside. (awso see Cookware and bakeware)